Blog Topic: Breaking News

Grub Notes: OMG, You Guys: Saucehouse Has an Opening Date

By Hillary Brown | August 6, 2015 10:40am

Photo Credit: Photo via Facebook

It's true. The barbecue restaurant we first heard about in November 2013 and that we've been watching go up in fits and starts on West Broad, across from Treehouse and Ideal Bagel, will open its doors Tuesday, Aug. 25.

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In the Loop: GBI: Athens Police Officer Assaulted UGA Student

By Blake Aued | August 5, 2015 1:02pm

An Athens-Clarke County police officer assaulted a University of Georgia student outside a downtown fraternity house in June, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

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In the Loop: Ex-Congressman John Barrow Will Teach at UGA

By Blake Aued | July 22, 2015 2:57pm

Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow, an Athens native, will teach at the University of Georgia starting this fall, UGA announced today.

Barrow will be a scholar in residence at the School of Public and International Affairs, teaching once class this fall and two in the spring semester focusing on political polarization.

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In the Loop: Jamie Hood Found Guilty on Murder Charges

By Blake Aued | July 20, 2015 5:22pm

ACCPD Officer Buddy Christian's official photo (left) and Jamie Hood's mugshot from the Clarke County Jail.

After a bizarre four-week trial, it took an Elbert County jury less than a day to convict Jamie Hood on charges of murdering Athens-Clarke County police officer Buddy Christian and local resident Kenneth Omari Wray in 2011, as well as attempting to murder ACCPD Officer Tony Howard.

But the jury found Hood not guilty on charges of kidnapping Judon Brooks and falsely imprisoning an East Athens family while on the run from authorities after shooting Christian and Howard. He was found guilty of robbing Brooks, though.

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In the Loop: ARMC Might Merge With Another Hospital

By Blake Aued | July 17, 2015 12:00am

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Athens Regional Medical Center is considering a merger with another health care organization.

The full announcement from ARMC is below. The hospital met with employees and affiliated doctors Tuesday and Wednesday before releasing the news.

For context, at least two top executives, including former CEO Jamey Thaw, were forced out in May 2014 over the botched implementation of a new electronic record-keeping system, among other issues. The move also came amidst rumors of a precarious financial situation for the health care group, which also includes several urgent-care clinics and a health insurance plan.

After being led by Chief Medical Officer James Moore for nine months, Athens Regional Health System appointed Charles Peck as CEO in February.

Here's the announcement:

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In the Loop: Epps Bridge Centre Is Doubling in Size

By Blake Aued | July 16, 2015 12:37pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Best Buy is among the stores that moved from Atlanta Highway to Epps Bridge Centre.

Atlanta developer Frank Bishop plans on building an expansion of Epps Bridge Centre across the Oconee Connector from the current shopping center that would nearly double the size of the development.

Bishop applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month for a permit to mitigate watershed damage from the development by purchasing credits to protect wetlands in Greene County.

Plans his company submitted with the application call for a 370,000 square-foot development, including a large standalone anchor tenant, two buildings with smaller retail spaces and seven outparcels, to be built in two phases.

Phase 1 of Epps Bridge Centre, which opened in 2013, is approximately 450,000 square feet, so the next to phases would bring the total size to more than 800,000 square feet (the size of eight Walmarts).

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In the Loop: J. Crew and CVS Are Coming to Downtown Athens

By Blake Aued | July 8, 2015 2:51pm

An artist's rendering of Georgia Heights.

A CVS pharmacy and a J. Crew factory store will be among the ground-floor commercial tenants in the Georgia Heights student housing development under construction in the old SunTrust Bank parking lot between Broad, Lumpkin, Clayton and Hull streets downtown.

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In the Loop: Commission Rejects Eastside Aldi Rezoning

By Blake Aued | July 8, 2015 10:25am

The Athens-Clarke County Commission rejected a rezoning request to build an Aldi grocery store at the intersection of Barnett Shoals and College Station roads by a 5–4 vote Tuesday night.

Aldi, which also has an Atlanta Highway location, had wanted to build the 17,000 square-foot store on the site of what is currently a gas station, as well as a neighboring residential parcel.

Residents spoke out against the plan, arguing that it would bring too many cars to an area that’s already seeing increased traffic from the new University of Georgia veterinary hospital nearby, and that a proposed buffer between the development and the Crestwood/Green Acres subdivision was inadequate.

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In the Loop: Sunday Buses Start Next Month; Will Be Free for Four Weeks

By Blake Aued | July 6, 2015 4:26pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Athens Transit will start running buses on Sundays Aug. 16, and fares will be free for the first four Sundays.

The launch will coincide with Athens Transit’s regular fall service changes the second week of August—when University of Georgia classes traditionally start—in order to recruit and train employees.

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In the Loop: The Jamie Hood Trial Is Completely Bonkers

By Blake Aued | June 29, 2015 11:46am

Photo Credit: Photo by @wycam1 via Twitter.

Unfortunately, Flagpole does not have the resources to send a writer to sit in a courtroom for eight hours a day for two months, but oh my God, as tragic and reprehensible as Jamie Hood's crime spree was, this story is amazing.

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